LETV LE IS

Value for money
Rs.10,999/-

The Le 1s' build quality belies its budget pricing. It comprises a metal uni-body construction and a 5.5 inch Gorila Glass 3 screen. The device looks and feels premium, and its power button and volume rocker are solid and without any unnecessary play.

Its Full HD IPS display is capable of deep blacks and punchy colours- and it is brightly visible even under direct sunlight. Also, there is little colour degradation when viewed from acute angles. In fact, this device has the best screen when compared to the other handsets in this roundup.

The handset's speaker is loud enough for movie watching. With headphones, it is an average performer. The mids and highs are balanced, though bass lovers might find it slightly lacking.

Both its cameras come with four shooting modes: slow-motion, video, photo and panorama. Besides, you can also control variable like exposure, white balance, saturation, ISO and contrast. What you also get re nine filter settings that allow you to experiment with your snapshots. The output from both shooters are average- and not too detailed or sharp, but it works well for sharing on social networks and on services like Instagram.

The Le 1s, however, boasts of solid processing muscle that handles productivity tasks, Full HD movies and 3D games effortlessly. Multitasking between apps posed no problems, and in benchmark tests, this handset notched the highest scores in this comparison review. Also, its fingerprint sensor works with minimum lag to unlock the phone, and it can also be used for shutter release in the camera app. As plus, you also get an IR blaster that can configured to be used as a remote control for TVs and air conditioners.

This device comes with a USB Type-c cable and a fast charger that juices up its battery in an hour's time to give you slightly more than a day of average use on a single charge. It should be noted that your existing microUSB OTG pen drive will not connect directly to this phone.

That said, the Le 1s is promises value for money: It looks fantastic, call quality is clear, its fingerprint scanner adds an extra layer of security, and you get 32GB storage. Buy if you want a device that ticks all the right boxes when it comes to productivity, and which works well for movie watching and gaming.

2. HONOR 5X :

Honor 5X Rs.12,999/-

The Honor 5X sports an aluminium alloy body with a brushed metal finish. The device feels solid and its slim profile only helps to accentuate its premium looks.

Its display is bright, renders vibrant colours and crisp text. Now while viewing angles are good, there is a slight dip in brightness and change in colour when viewed from acute angles. Still, this is not a major issue.

The Honor 5X is equipped with a powerful speaker. You will be able to watch a movie even in a noisy room. Switch to earphones and the audio experience gets better: The mids and highs sound clear, though you may find bass slightly lacking. Its overall output lacks the punch that the Oppo F1 delivers with its dedicated audio processing technology.

On the imaging front, you get basic set of shooting modes like good food, time lapse, HDR and slow-mo. An "all focus" modes lets you choose the object you want to focus on after clicking a photo. Both camera are responsive and adjust exposure quickly in different lighting conditions. The rear camera is capable of capturing quite a bit of detail with natural colours. However, selfies taken with the front snapper appear soft and are only good enough for sharing online.

This handset's user interface offers a great deal of customization options. You can adjust overall colour tone, configure gestures, work in a split screen mode to view two apps simultaneously, enable an SOS feature, and more.

Like the rest of the phones here, the Honor's bio-metric sensor is quick to unlock the device. However, it is the only one that lets you save up to five fingerprints and enable gestures to mute an alarm, answer a call, etc. You can even configure each finger to quick launch an app with just a tap on its sensor.

In terms of overall performance, the Honor 5X fairs better with productivity related tasks than with resource-intensive games. We faced random lags and halts while switching between multiple apps and launching new ones. Also, this handset did not recognize any of the microUSB pen drives we connected to it. On the positive side, this smartphone's battery is capable of providing over a day a half's service.

Buy the Honor 5X for clear and crisp voice calls, its highly customizable fingerprint sensor, and stellar batter life.

3. LENOVO K4 NOTE :

Lenovo K4 Note Rs.11,999/-

The Lenovo K4 Note is an all-plastic affair with a metal finish. And while it doesn't look as elegnt as the other smartphones, it still feels sturdy. The gentle curve on its panel makes it comfortable to old and operate with one hand.

Its scratch-resistant Full HD display is bright and colours appear punchy. However, there is a noticeable colour cast while watching dark movie scenes. On the 'bright' side, its viewing angles re markedly better than the Honor 5X.

The K4 Note's Dolby-certified, front-facing speakers are capable of distortion-free sound with discernible bass. And you can even use its sound enhancement tool to adjust the equalizer to your listening taste. This is best enjoyed with earphones as the changes are more perceptible in this listening mode.

This handset's cameras capture pictures that appear soft and which lack in detail. Its accompanying app is scant with just the bare minimum shooting options like HDR, panorama, a handful of photo filters and the ability to manually set exposure, ISO and white balance. While K4 Note's pictures work for sharing on social networks, it is not a phone you will buy for its shooters.

Its user interface, however, makes up with some nifty configuration options. You can record calls create a separate secure zone for your office work and related apps; configure the fingerprint sensor to function as a shortcut to the home screen or show background tasks; and even double press the volume key to take an instant photo.

In benchmark tests, the K4 Note faired a little better than Honor 5X. The experience was relatively smooth and lag-free. That said, it is not suited for heavy gaming.

Given that this handset's battery is capable of giving almost two days of usage and supports USB OTG, you can consider the Lenovo K4 Note for productivity, watching movies and playing casual games.

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4. OPPO F1 :

OppO F1 Rs.15990

The F1 comes with an aluminium-alloy unibody and a 5-inch display that's protected by Gorilla Glass 4. The result is a sleek, good looking handset that fits well in smaller hands and which feels smooth to hold.

Unlike the other Full HD phones, this is the only device that comes to the rendering of colours and visibility under sunlight discolouration when the display is viewed at an angle, but this is not a deal breaker. That said, for movie watching, the smaller screen with its lower resolution, makes it slightly underwhelming.

The F1's speakers work just as well as those on the other devices reviewed here, but use it with headphones and it is clear winner. The handset comes with Dirac HD Sound and this result in an output that's balanced, complete with a deep bass that you can almost feel. Besides, in Settings, under sound tab, you can also find a 3 channel equalizer that lets you customize your audio experience.

The cameras are another area where the F1 scores over the rest in this review. Selfies shot with the front cam appear brighter, and you get three beautification modes that remove skin blemishes. The F1 can also use its screen as a soft flash for well-lit snapshots. It can be configured to shoot a picture when you say "cheese" or wave in front of the lens. Its rear snapper is quick to focus and comes with features like Ultra-HD(which shoots four photos consecutively and combines the pest parts of each to make 50MP image). Double Exposure(which takes two photos and overlaps them in the final image), Super GIF( for animated photos), and Slow Shutter ( for light painting pictures with a long exposure). Resulting photos are sharp, detailed and captured with vibrant colours.

When it comes to pure productivity, the Oppo F1 is no laggard, and performs just as well as the K4 Note and 5X, though it seemed to have a slight edge in graphics processing, especially when it came to benchmark scores. On the downside, it is the only smartphone here that does not come with fingerprint unlock.

That said, what you do get is a device that supports USB OTG, which can be used with two SIMs and which gives you nearly a day and half of use on a single charge. Buy this device if you want a smartphone with a good camera, for causal gaming, and which doubles up as a quality MP3 player.